Fa

Fa is the name of a deity among the Fon people of Benin and the Yoruba of Nigeria. Among the Yoruba, the name is often rendered Ifa. Fa is the far-reaching God of fate or destiny who can impact on the lives of all humans. According to the traditional teachers of African religion, the notion of Fa as the determiner of destiny is the central focus of the work done by this deity.

It is thought that individuals have their own personal Fa or God of destiny, and each person also has their own Legba. Legba is the only God who knows the alphabet of Mawu; to interpret your Fa, you have to know that writing of Mawu. Thus, among the Fon of Benin, Fa, Legba, and Mawu are connected. One cannot access the secrets of Fa without Legba, and Mawu, of course, rules over the universe.

The tale of the emergence of Fa, according to Yoruba legend, begins with a dying, hopeless humankind who had stopped sending sacrifices to their Gods, and therefore these Gods were hungry. In seeking to give humans something to live for, Eshu, another name for Legba, went to a palm tree where monkeys gave him 16 palm nuts. The monkeys instructed Eshu to travel around the world to hear 16 sayings in 16 places. After doing so, Eshu gave the knowledge he gained to humankind through the soothsaying Ifa (Fa).

According to oral history in Benin, the heart of the Benin nation was the Dahomey kingdom, which was established by a Yoruba princess around the 15th and 16th centuries. By the 18th century, the Dahomey kingdom had emerged as one of the most powerful military states in West Africa, and it was a major player in the European triangular trade of the enslaved.

Before the Fa deity of divination was introduced, Fon diviners in Benin had historically relied on a method called Bo, which is the oracle of the ancestors. A diviner among the Fon is known as bokonon—the owner of Bo knowledge. With the arrival of Fa divination, the bokonon became a Fa priest who is usually consulted before important decisions are made. In the bokonon's soothsaying ritual, palm nuts and a tray that symbolizes space and other divinatory accessories are used. The priest sprinkles powder on the tray and draws Fa signs with his or her fingertips.

In the 1930s, the Church of Fa was founded after this deity in Nigeria. This group has sought different ways to keep Africans connected to the indigenous religion. They refer to the Supreme Being as Olorun, as is the custom among the Yoruba. However, for them, the idea of Fa as the keeper of destiny is central to their oudook on life. Thus, Fa continues to this day as a major contributor to the religious life of the Fon and Yoruba peoples.